Terai-Duar Savannas and Grasslands

About the Area

Warm temperatures and moderately low rainfall prevail in the Terai-Duar savannas and grasslands, where grasses are abundant and trees are few.

These grasslands contain the world's tallest grasses and have the highest densities of tigers, rhinos, and ungulates anywhere in Asia.

The dominant grass of the floodplains Saccharum, or elephant grass, grows each year to heights over seven meters and supports a number of habitat specialists such as the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris) and its prey base, the Chital (Axis axis).Local Species This grand ecoregion is home to an abundance of plants, birds, reptiles such as the Gharial crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus), and mammals including Tigers (Panthera tigris), Swamp deers or Barasinghas (Cervus duvauceli), Pygmy hog (Sus salvinius), and the greater one-horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) - the largest species of rhino in Asia.

This ecoregion is home to three birds found nowhere else in the world - the Spiny babbler (Turdoides nipalensis), Grey-crowned prinia (Prinia cinereocapilla), and Manipur bush-quail (Perdicula manipurensis).